Secrecy Shrouds Halliburton Hiring Frenzy at Houston Hotel

Monica Perin Houston Business Journal

| June 25, 2003

Specialized workers and technicians have been arriving at the
Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel in Houston, Texas, since the beginning of
the year to compete for jobs with Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR),
the company contracted to rebuild infrastructure in Iraq, Kuwait,
and Afghanistan. ?The recruits are required to sign an agreement
pledging not to talk to the media,? reports Monica Perin for the
Houston Business Journal. But that?s a small price to pay
considering the kind of money applicants can expect to make if
hired. Under the U.S. Army?s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program
(LOGCAP), KBR is slated to handle $425 million worth of work for
the U.S. Department of Defense in the Middle East. However,
depending on whom you talk to, LOGCAP allows contractors to spend
whatever they need to get the job done, and then tack on an extra 7
to 10 percent profit. That essentially amounts to an open-ended
mandate and budget to send KBR anywhere in the world to run
military operations at a profit. KBR employees are paid handsomely,
but their salaries pale in comparison to the million-dollar-a-year
pension Dick Cheney receives for his work as CEO of Halliburton,
the position he held between a tour as secretary of defense for
Bush Sr., and his current job as vice president.
?Nick Garafola